Fussen Things to Do

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I visited here with a tour group out of Munich. Along with this castle, we also visited Linderhof and Hohenschwangau Castle. Obviously, Neuschwanstein was the most impressive architecturally, but the other two were also nice in their own rights. What I enjoyed most about the tour was the ballroom and the grotto. I love the fact that the king had paintings of Tristan and Isolde in his bedroom and then a little grotto right off of it. He really was the "fairytale king." I was sorry that Wagner never got to see the room that was built for him to perform in. You actually don't see a lot of the castle on the tour. Maybe only about 1/3 of it, but with over 100 rooms a full tour would take forever. Since the castle was never really finished some of it wouldn't make sense to see anyway. The tour was in English and they offered other languages as well. It's a long walk up and if you don't walk well you might want to consider the horse and cart.

On a side note, before going on the tour I had lunch in a restaurant at the foot of the mountain. We were sitting in a window but the fog was so thick that we couldn't see a thing. The waiter came over and said, "It's too bad the weather isn't good for you. Usually this is the best seat in the house because you have a panorama of the castle." Well, right before we got up the fog parted for about 10 seconds and the castle came into view like a ghost. Then it very slowly disappeared again.

All photos are from the official site.

Of course the castles are here, but this is a really cute area to explore! i would recommend walking around or driving, just seeing the sights. On my drive here from Munich, i have to say it was a beautiful drive! it would be fun just to spend maybe half day or a day exploring surrounding area.

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King Ludwig's childhood castle.....its across the way, down the hill from Neuchwanstein. If you were to walk, i would allow at least 45 minutes by the time you walk down the big hill from Neuchwanstein and up the big hill to this castle. You see this castle same was as you saw Neuchwanstein and that is with the ticket you purchased from ticket center. There is a guided tour and its pretty good. The guide was much better here than at Neuchwanstein ( English speaking guide). You can also decide which castle to see first....i picked Neuchwanstein first because it was more convenient because i was closer by staying at the schlossrestaurant neuchwanstein so made sense to go there first, then walk over to this castle

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Kind Ludwig had this castle built and only stayed about 6 months total here before he died ( in the nearby lake with his psychiatrist. still remains a mystery because he drowned but was known to be an excellent swimmer( ludwig) and no one can explain why psychiatrist was there with him). Anyway, there are many unfinished rooms and many are finished. One area that was interesting is a cave Ludwig had built for himself.. you walk to this little room past a beautiful view and its a man made cave that he liked..
The place is huge and so many rooms. You cannot take photos though. You book tour ahead of time by buying tickets for a certain time. Then meet inside castle area for your tour number. You cant go yourself and tour, you become part of a group assigned to that tour number and time.
I think the tour is way too expensive ...you cant take pictures. The english speaking tour guide was so hard to understand, her English was pretty bad.

Admission charges

Tickets
Ticketcenter Hohenschwangau is where you bu tickets and you must buy your ticket before you go up to the castle.

9 euros regular
Children and young people under 18 are free.

"King's ticket" for both Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau Castle on the same day: 17 euros

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I'll quote here from my emails:
"Linderhof, the only one of mad Ludwig's castle to actually be completed, beckoned me. Though it involved a circuitous bus route (2 and half hours and three buses each way), I deemed it appropriate that I choose this.
Why I deemed it appropriate was that my legs told me "Five hours on a bus sitting down sounds great". How could I deny them?
So at 9.35 I boarded the Mercedes, they of the suspension that sinks when the doors open to allow easier ingress and egress. The Germans would engineer something like that, despite what those who favour a certain French marque might have you believe, though others have since followed.
We rolled along the flat terrain, the Alps constantly at our side until we reached Oberammergau. On the final bus we then bisected the mountains and, though it was nice, it didn't quite have the drama of, say, the Dolomites or Berchtesgaden.
We arrived at Linderhof carpark and I immediately couldn't help but notice the stark contrast between this and Neuschwanstein. While one is a standout in an epic setting, the other seeks to bury itself between a forested hill and a forested mountain. Its seclusion so at odds with its more famous cousin.
On the small hill sits the small but very impressive Temple of Venus. Between that and the palace, in spring and summer, is a vibrant and colourful fountain and garden, neither of which was on show during my visit."

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If you have come to Fussen its probably to visit the amazingly beautiful castles. The most famous, Neuschwanstein Castle was built by King Ludwig or The Mad King Ludwig in 1869 overlooking the Pollat Gorge in homage to Wagner the composer and when he died in 1886 the castle was unfinished. It remains so to this day with only 32 rooms out of some 300, completed.

One of Germanys famous landmarks is visited by over 6000 tourists a day during the summer months and at only 9 euros entrance fee this really is worth a visit.

Walt Disney copied this amazing architecture to use as his Sleeping Beautys´ Castle and is the famous sight in all the Disneylands and Worlds, and the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang used several areas in the grounds for filming.

The only setback are the 165 steps up to the Castle and the 181 down, so its not recommended for those who have difficulty with stairs.

If you´ve arrived in Fussen then you must not leave without taking the horse and carriage ride up to the famous Neuschwanstein Castle.
Up to 12 people can sit in these lovely old Bavarian carriages with blankets over the knees and check out the views as it winds its way up the steep hill to the castle.
Pulled by 2 horses with a cheerful master holding the reins this was a thoroughly enjoyable 40 minute ride....even if it was snowing!
This ride only costs 5 euros and is worth every cent.

Go to the Crystal Therme and have a spa treatment or just swim and look at the castle. It has both indoor and outdoor pools. Go to the Museum of musical instruments. Try the bobsled that is a sled on wheels in the summer. Take the chairlift up the mountain. Go to the Musical about King Ludwig's life. Ride bikes all over. Ride bikes to bordering towns with quaint and beautiful little chapels. Visit the historic graveyard. Soak up nature!